Lithos Jewelry

Glossary of Jewelry Terms

Akoya Pearl A specific type of Japanese saltwater pearl

Baroque An irregular shaped pearl; a pearl that is not round.

Carat Unit of weight measuring diamonds. One carat equals 100 points. Diamonds possessing a "magical" weight, multiples of 0.25, are often preferred.

Clarity Blemishes and inclusions interrupt the passage of light through a diamond. Blemishes are external and included scratches, nicks and naturals. Inclusions are internal and include mineral crystals, breaks and distortions in crystal structure. The clarity scale ranges from FL (flawless) to I (imperfect).

Cloud A grouping of white inclusions or pinpoints in a diamond that result in a milky or cloudy spot.

Color Remaining light that an object does not absorb. With diamonds, absence of color is highly prized. Most diamonds possess some color, and are graded on a scale of D (colorless) to Z (light yellow). These light yellow diamonds are not fancy color.

Culet A tiny flat facet that diamond cutters sometimes add at the bottom of a diamond's pavilion. Its purpose is to protect the tip of the pavilion from being chipped or damaged. Once a diamond is set in jewelry, though, the setting itself generally provides the pavilion with sufficient protection from impact or wear. Large or extremely large culets were common in diamonds cut in the early part of this century, such as the Old European or Old Mine Cut. However, such large culets are rarely seen today. Most modern shapes have either no culet at all, or a small or very small culet.

Cut With a well cut diamond, more light is returned to the eye through the table. The round brilliant is the standard shape for most diamonds and most other diamonds are merely derivatives of the round brilliant. The quality of the cut is based on effective light return.

Facet Smooth, flat polished surface plane of a diamond.

Feather A small fracture inside a diamond, usually caused by the pressure a diamond endured while forming. Feathers can be transparent or whitish. Most feathers pose no threat to the integrity of a diamond.

Fluorescence When viewed under long wave ultraviolet light (similar to a black light), a diamond has a soft glow. This is a natural occurrence. Not all diamonds have fluorescence. It can be used as an identifying characteristic for a stone.

Girdle The "waist" of a diamond, the outer edge.

Included Crystal A mineral crystal inside a diamond, often incorrectly called "carbon spots."

Kasamiga Pearl Baroque pearls that grow in Lake Kasamiga, Japan. Good Kasamigas have a beautiful iridescence. These have become much more rare - the lake is polluted and producing fewer and fewer pearls.

Keshi Pearl Pearls that are formed when the oyster rejects and spits out the implanted nucleus before the culturing process is complete, or the implanted mantle tissue fractures and forms separate pearl sacs without nuclei. Keshi pearls do not have a nucleus.

Pavilion The bottom part of a diamond, below the girdle.

Plated The electroplating process is done to pieces made out of materials such as white gold, which need a rhodium coating to be bright white. Rhodium coats the piece in layers. This can also be done with yellow gold.

Semi Mount A piece of finished jewelry, usually a diamond ring, without the center stone. Often a CZ is used as a placeholder in a semi mount.

Table The flat top surface (facet) of a diamond.

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